Controlling write request access to a non-volatile log

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method and system are provided to control access to the non-volatile log (NVlog) of a storage server. By controlling access to the NVLog of a storage server the relative disk write bandwidth available to different client write requests can be controlled. The incoming write request can be categorized, and, during times of heavy load, only be permitted to use NVLog space as permitted based on the categorization of each write request. In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving a write request from a client at a storage server, and determining whether the received write request can be presently logged in a NVlog based on a category of the write request.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

At least one embodiment of the present invention pertains to storageservers, and more particularly, to write request processing in a storageserver.

BACKGROUND

In modern computer networks, a storage server can be used for manydifferent purposes, such as to provide multiple users with access toshared data or to back up mission critical data. A file server is anexample of a storage server which operates on behalf of one or moreclients to store and manage shared files in a set of mass storagedevices, such as magnetic or optical storage based disks or tapes. Themass storage devices are typically organized into one or more volumes ofRedundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks (RAID).

One mode in which a file server can be used is a network attachedstorage (NAS) mode. In a NAS mode, a file server can be implemented inthe form of an appliance, called a filer, that attaches to a network,such as a local area network (LAN) or a corporate intranet. An exampleof such an appliance is any of the Filer products made by NetworkAppliance, Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif. A storage server can also beemployed in a storage area network (SAN), which is a highly efficientnetwork of interconnected, shared storage devices. In a SAN, the storageserver (which may be an appliance) provides a remote host withblock-level access to stored data, whereas in a NAS configuration, thestorage server provides clients with file-level access to stored data.

Some storage servers, such as certain Filers from Network Appliance,Inc. are capable of operating in either a NAS mode or a SAN mode, oreven both modes at the same time. Such dual-use devices are sometimesreferred to as “unified storage” devices. A storage server such as thismay use any of various protocols to store and provide data, such asHypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), Network File System (NFS), CommonInternet File system (CIFS), Internet SCSI (ISCSI), and/or Fibre ChannelProtocol (FCP).

A simple example of a storage file server is illustrated in FIG. 1. Astorage server located at the primary site is coupled locally to a setof mass storage devices 4, and to a set of clients 1 through a network3, such as a local area network (LAN). Each of the clients 1 may be, forexample, a conventional personal computer (PC), workstation, or thelike. The mass storage devices 4 may be, for example, conventionalmagnetic disks, optical disks such as CD-ROM or DVD based storage,magneto-optical (MO) storage, or any other type of non-volatile storagedevices suitable for storing large quantities of data.

The storage server 2 receives and responds to various read and writerequests from the clients 1. In a system which handles large volumes ofclient requests, it may be impractical to save data modifications to themass storage devices 4 every time a write request is received from aclient 1. The reason is that disk accesses tend to take a relativelylong time compared to other operations. Therefore, the storage server 2may instead hold write requests in memory temporarily and onlyperiodically save the modified data to the mass storage devices 4, suchas every 5 to 10 seconds. The event of saving the modified data to themass storage devices is called a “consistency point”. At a consistencypoint, the storage server saves any data that was modified by the writerequests to its local mass storage devices 4.

In this approach, there is a small risk of a system failure occurringbetween consistency points, causing the loss of data modified after thelast consistency point. Consequently, in at least one prior artsolution, the storage server 2 includes a non-volatile random accessmemory (NVRAM) in which it maintains a log of write requests receivedfrom clients since the last consistency point. This log is referred toas the “NVLog”. The NVLog includes a separate entry for each writerequest received from a client 1 since the last consistency point. EachNVLog entry includes the data to be written according to thecorresponding request. The NVLog is only used in the event of a failure,to recover data that would otherwise be lost. In the event of a failure,it may be possible to replay the NVLog to reconstruct the current stateof stored data just prior to the failure. After each consistency pointis completed, the NVLog is cleared and started anew.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a storage server 2known in the prior art. The storage server 2 includes one or moreprocessors 21 and a system memory 22 coupled to each other by a northbridge. The north bridge 28 is also coupled to a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus 23. The north bridge 28 provides an interfacebetween peripheral components on the PCI bus and the processors 21 andsystem memory 22.

Each processor 21 is a central processing unit of (CPU) of the storageserver 2 and, thus, controls the overall operation of the storage server2. In certain embodiments, a processor 21 accomplishes this by executingsoftware stored in system memory 22. Such software may include theoperating system 24 of the storage server 2. Each processor 21 may be,or may include, one or more programmable general-purpose orspecial-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs),programmable controllers, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or the like, or acombination of such devices. The system memory 22 is a random accessmemory (RAM) which stores, among other things, the operating system 24of the storage server 2, in which the techniques introduced herein canbe implemented.

Connected to the PCI bus 23 are an NVRAM 29, which stores the NVLog ofthe storage server 2; one or more internal mass storage devices 25; astorage adapter 26; a network adapter 27; and a cluster interconnectadapter 30. Internal mass storage devices 25 may be or include anyconventional medium for storing large volumes of data in a non-volatilemanner, such as one or more disks. The storage adapter 26 allows thestorage server 2 to access the external mass storage devices 4 and maybe, for example, a Fibre Channel adapter or a SCSI adapter. The networkadapter 27 provides the storage server 2 with the ability to communicatewith remote devices such as the clients 1 over a network and may be, forexample, an Ethernet adapter. The cluster interconnect adapter 30provides the storage server 2 with the ability to connect the storageserver to other storage servers in a cluster configuration.

One problem with the system described above, is that during consistencypoint processing, the NVlog may become full during heavy loads. If theNVlog is full, no further write requests can be acknowledged until theNVLog is cleared when the consistency point processing is completed.This adds latency to applications using the storage server.

For some applications, the added latency is of little concern. Forexample, employee home directories of an enterprise can slow downwithout any significant harm to the enterprise. However, for otherapplications, the added latency can cost the enterprise money. Forexample, a mission critical database, such as a customer servicedatabase, experiencing latency can hurt the enterprise in financialterms because the customer service representatives will handle fewercustomers. What is needed is a file server that can differentiatebetween various applications when heavily loaded.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method and system areprovided to control access to the non-volatile log (NVlog) of a storageserver. By controlling access to the NVLog of a storage server therelative disk write bandwidth available to different client writerequests can be controlled. The incoming write request can becategorized, and, during times of heavy load, only be permitted to useNVLog space as permitted based on the categorization of each writerequest. In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving awrite request from a client at a storage server, and determining whetherthe received write request can be presently logged in a NVlog based on acategory of the write request.

Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the accompanyingfigures and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by wayof example and not limited to the figures of the accompanying drawings,in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an environment including astorage server that may be used with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a storage server that may be usedwith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a storage operating system thatmay be used with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of write request processing during normal loadsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an NVLog according to oneembodiment the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of usage monitor mode determination processingaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of write request processing during usagemonitor mode according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a control of service layeraccording to one embodiment the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method and system areprovided to control access to the NVLog of a storage server. Bycontrolling access to the NVLog of a storage server the relative diskwrite bandwidth available to different client write requests can becontrolled. The incoming write request can be categorized, and, duringtimes of heavy load, only be permitted to use NVLog space as permittedbased on the categorization of each write request. These and otherfeatures of the present invention will be described further below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the storage operating system200—which may be used in place of operating system 24 in FIG. 2—that maybe advantageously used with one embodiment of the present invention. Thestorage operating system 200 comprises a series of software layersorganized to form an integrated network protocol stack or, moregenerally, a multi-protocol engine that provides data paths for clientsto access information stored on the storage system using block and fileaccess protocols. The protocol stack includes a media access layer 210of network drivers (e.g., gigabit Ethernet drivers) that interfaces tonetwork protocol layers, such as the IP layer 212 and its supportingtransport mechanisms, the TCP layer 214 and the User Datagram Protocol(UDP) layer 216. A file system protocol layer provides multi-protocolfile access and, to that end, includes support for the Direct AccessFile System (DAFS) protocol 218, the NFS protocol 220, the CIFS protocol222 and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol 224. A virtualinterface (VI) layer 226 implements the VI architecture to providedirect access transport (DAT) capabilities, such as remote direct memoryaccess (RDMA), as required by the DAFS protocol 218.

A iSCSI driver layer 228 provides block protocol access over the TCP/IPnetwork protocol layers, while a FC driver layer 230 receives andtransmits block access requests and responses to and from the storagesystem. The FC and ISCSI drivers provide FC-specific and iSCSI-specificaccess control to the blocks and, thus, manage exports of LUNs to eitheriSCSI or FCP or, alternatively, to both iSCSI and FCP when accessing theblocks on the storage system. In addition, the storage operating systemincludes a storage module embodied as a RAID system 240 that manages thestorage and retrieval of information to and from the volumes/disks inaccordance with I/O operations, and a disk driver system 250 thatimplements a disk access protocol such as, e.g., the SCSI protocol.

Bridging the disk software layers with the integrated network protocolstack layers is a virtualization system that is implemented by a filesystem 280 interacting with virtualization modules illustrativelyembodied as, e.g., vdisk module 290 and SCSI target module 270. Thevdisk module 290 is layered on the file system 280 to enable access byadministrative interfaces, such as a user interface (UI) 275, inresponse to a user (system administrator) issuing commands to thestorage system. The SCSI target module 270 is disposed to provide atranslation layer of the virtualization system between the block (LUN)space and the file system space, where luns are represented as blocks.The UI 275 is disposed over the storage operating system in a mannerthat enables administrative or user access to the various layers andsystems.

The file system is illustratively a message-based system that provideslogical volume management capabilities for use in access to theinformation stored on the storage devices, such as disks. That is, inaddition to providing file system semantics, the file system 280provides functions normally associated with a volume manager. Thesefunctions include (i) aggregation of the disks, (ii) aggregation ofstorage bandwidth of the disks, and (iii) reliability guarantees, suchas mirroring and/or parity (RAID). The file system 280 illustrativelyimplements a write anywhere file system having an on-disk formatrepresentation that is block-based using, e.g., 4 kilobyte (kB) blocksand using index nodes (“inodes”) to identify files and file attributes(such as creation time, access permissions, size and block location).The file system uses files to store metadata describing the layout ofits file system; these metadata files include, among others, an inodefile. A file handle, i.e., an identifier that includes an inode number,is used to retrieve an inode from disk.

Write request processing of the storage server is now described withreference to FIG. 4. The storage server can be similar to the storageserver 2 shown in FIG. 2. In block 410, a write request is received viaone of the protocols described with reference to FIG. 3, such as NFS.The write request includes the source of the request, a destination forthe request, and the data to be written. The request source may beidentified as an application, a client, or some other addressableentity. The request source may be identified by one or more InternetProtocol (IP) addresses. The request destination can be a file system, avolume, a virtual volume, or some other type of storage container.

In block 420, the write request is logged in the NVLog, such as theNVLog discussed with reference to FIG. 2. When the write request hasbeen logged, in block 430, the storage server acknowledges the writerequest to the source of the write request. Then, in block 440,consistency point (CP) processing is performed. The CP processing can betriggered by a timer (e.g., every 5 seconds), by some event (e.g., NVLogrunning out of space), or a combination of timers and events.

One embodiment of the NVLog is now described with reference to FIG. 5.In FIG. 5, the NVLog is divided into two halves labeled log A 510 andlog B 520 respectively. When log A 510 is full, the operating system 200of the storage server 2 initiates CP processing. During CP processing,the write requests logged in log A 510 are written to disk via the filesystem 280, the RAID system 240, and the disk driver system 250described with reference to FIG. 3.

CP processing takes time and is a relatively slow operation for thestorage server 2. That is, write requests keep arriving while thestorage server carries out CP processing. In one embodiment, while log A510 is in CP processing, incoming write requests are logged in log B520. When log B 520 fills up, CP processing is performed over log B 520,and incoming write request are logged in log A 510 which was clearedafter the CP processing over log A 510 has completed.

However, in a heavy load condition, write requests can come in suchquantities that log B 520 fills up before the CP processing over log A510 completes. This is sometimes referred to as “Back-to-Back CPs.” Whenthis happens, write requests cannot be logged until CP processing overlog A 510 completes and log A 510 is cleared, causing the client servicerate to drop to zero. In one embodiment, the present invention only logs“important” write requests, while blocking all other write requests,under heavy load conditions as determined by one or more specifiedcriteria.

In one embodiment, the control of service layer 300 shown in FIG. 3 isinterposed between the protocol layers and the file system 280. Thecontrol of service layer 300 is configured to control levels of servicebased on various service policies. One such policy can control access tothe NVLog 500.

In one embodiment, the control of service layer 300 begins to restrictaccess to the NVLog 500 upon entering a “usage monitor mode.” A processfor determining whether to enter usage monitor mode is now describedwith reference to FIG. 6. In block 610, the control of service layer 300determines whether the storage server 2 is performing CP processing. Ifthe storage server 2 is not performing CP processing, then, in block620, the service control layer 300 exits usage monitor mode. If thestorage server 2 is not in usage monitor mode, then block 620 has noeffect and processing continues.

If, however, in block 610 the storage server 2 is found to be performingCP processing, then, in block 630, the service control layer 300observes whether the open portion of the NVlog 500 has exceeded a usagethreshold. Such a usage threshold is illustrated in FIG. 5. Log A 510 isthe portion of the NVLog 500 that is in CP processing, and log B 520represents the open portion of the NVLog 500. Usage threshold 530represent the threshold that, if exceeded, triggers the entering ofusage monitor mode.

Thus, in block 630 of FIG. 6, if the usage threshold is not exceeded,then in block 620, the service control layer 300 exits usage monitormode. Once again, if the storage server 2 is not in usage monitor mode,then block 620 has no effect and processing continues. However, if inblock 630 the usage threshold of the open portion of the NVLog 500 isexceeded, then, in block 640, usage monitor mode is entered. If thestorage server 2 is already in usage monitor mode, then block 640 has noeffect and processing continues.

In one embodiment, when in usage monitor mode, the service control layer300 changes the regular processing of write requests described withreference to FIG. 4. One embodiment of write request processing in usagemonitor mode is now described with reference to FIG. 7. In block 710 thewrite request is received from the one of the protocol layers.

In block 720, the write request is categorized. The categorization canbe based on the destination of the write request, such as target volume,file system, or other storage container. The categorization can also bebased on the source of the write request, such as client or sourceapplication. Furthermore, the write request may have a priority key onwhich categorization can be based, such as “High Priority” and “LowPriority.” Any combination of the above categorization schemes is alsopossible.

In block 730, the control of service layer 300 determines whetherlogging the received write request would cause the NVLog usage of thecategory of the write request to exceed an allotted usage. In oneembodiment, the control of service layer 300 keeps track of open NVLogusage on a per category basis. For example, 80% of the open portion ofthe NVLog may be reserved for “High Priority” write requests. Thus, ifthe received write request is a “Low Priority” request and the “LowPriority” category already is using 20% of the open portion of theNVLog, then logging the new write request would exceed the usageallotment of the category of the received write request.

If, in block 730, the control of service layer 300 determines thatlogging the received write request would not cause the NVLog usage ofthe category of the write request to exceed the allotted usage, then thecontrol of service layer 300 allows regular write request processing tocontinue, and passes the write request to the file system 280, where, inblock 740 the write request is logged and then acknowledged in block750.

However, if in block 730, the control of service layer 300 determinesthat logging the received write request would cause the NVLog usage ofthe category of the write request to exceed the allotted usage, then thecontrol of service layer 300 delays the write request, by waiting, inblock 760, for usage monitor mode to terminate before allowing the filesystem 280 to process the write request in blocks 740 and 750.

A detailed example is now provided to further clarify the variousembodiments of the present invention with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8shows the control of service layer 300 and the NVLog 500. The NVLog 500is shown as having two portions, Portion 1 and Portion 2 correspondingto log A 510 and log B 520 in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 8, the two portions are shown as separate to emphasize that thetwo portions can be implemented as two separate logs, or they may bepartitioned out of one log. In one embodiment, the two portions may beequal in size, but this is not necessarily so.

In this example, the write requests are categorized on a per volumebasis. That is, all write requests to a specific target volume are inthe same category. As mentioned above, other categories, such as clientsor applications can be used as well.

The control of service layer 300 implements a usage monitor module 810.In one embodiment, the usage monitor module 810 is configured keepstatistics of NVLog usage over the open portion of the NVLog 500 on aper volume basis. The “open” portion of the NVLog 500 refers to theportion that is currently being used to log incoming write request.

The usage monitor module 810 may do this by maintaining a log usagetable 820, although any other data structure may be used. The log usagetable 810 may be implemented as a database, a spreadsheet, or some otherdata storage technique. It can be stored on the server in system memory22, mass storage 25, or one some network storage device accessible bythe storage server 2 via the storage adapter 26. An example log usagetable 810 is now provided as Table 1:

TABLE 1 Category Allotted Usage Actual Usage Volume 1 10 Percent 10Percent Volume 2 40 Percent 25 Percent Volume 3 30 Percent 25 PercentVolume 4 20 Percent 20 Percent

In this simplified example, the storage server 2 organizes files in fourvolumes numbered 1-4. The allotted usage column of Table 1 representsthe percentage of the open portion of the NVLog 500 that each Volume isallowed to use during heavy loads. The allotted usage may be expressedin other ways as well, such as a total number of bytes (or other unitsof data) that each volume can occupy on the NVLog 500. The allottedusage specifications can be user configurable. An administrator canaccess and edit the allotted usage column of log usage table via theuser interface 275 described with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring again to FIG. 8, the control of service layer 300 includes amonitor mode module 840. In one embodiment, the monitor mode module 840implements the process described with reference to FIG. 6 to determinewhether the log policy manager 830 should implement usage monitor mode.Usage monitor mode can be entered by the exceeding of a usage thresholdof Portion 2 of the NVLog 500 when Portion 1 is in CP processing.

The usage threshold is 50 percent usage of the open portion in oneembodiment, but any other usage level may be used. Furthermore, theusage threshold may be user configurable. In another embodiment, themonitor mode module 840 can trigger monitor mode any time when CPprocessing is taking place over a portion—such as Portion 1—of the NVLog500, without implementing a usage threshold.

The log policy manager 830 is responsible for deciding which writerequests are allowed to be logged when the monitor mode module 840triggers usage monitor mode. Referring again to the example log usagetable 820 shown in Table 1, it is assumed for the purpose of thisexample, the CP processing is being performed on the write requestslogged in Portion 1 of the NVLog 500. Furthermore, it is assumed thatthe usage threshold of Portion 2 (the open portion of the NVLog 500) is70 percent.

In this example, the actual usage column of the log usage table 820shows that Portion 2 is 80 percent full. Thus, the monitor mode module820 would trigger usage monitor mode, since Portion 1 is in CPprocessing, and usage on Portion 2 exceeds 70 percent.

The next write request arriving in this example is destined for Volume2. In usage monitor mode, the log policy manager 830 enforces theallotments specified in the log usage table. Thus, Volume 2 is currentlyusing 25 percent of Portion 2 and it is allowed to use 40 percent. Thereceived write request would increase Volume 2's usage to 30 percent.Since 30 percent would not exceed 40 percent, the log policy managerwould allow this write request to be logged.

The next write request arriving in this example is destined for Volume4. Volume 4 is currently using 20 percent of Portion 2 and it is allowedto use 20 percent. The received write request would increase Volume 4'susage to 22 percent. Since 22 percent would exceed 20 percent, the logpolicy manager would block this write request until usage monitor modeterminates.

As explained above, the log policy manager 830 can utilize a log usagetable 820 with categories other than volumes. Usage may be allotted on aper client or per application basis instead. Alternatively, anothercategory, such as “mission critical database” could be used, or acombination of the categorizations set fourth above.

The NVLog 500 has been described above as having two halves or twoportions. However, the NVLog 500 may be divided into more than twopartitions. Furthermore, the various partitions of the NVLog can beimplemented as separate NVLogs, not necessarily of equal size.Similarly, partitions of a single NVLog, such as Log A 510 and Log B 520in FIG. 5 and Poritions 1 and 2 in FIG. 8, do not need to be equal insize.

Thus, a method and system to control NVLog access have been described.Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the inventionis not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

It will be noted that the term “machine-readable medium” should be takento include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

1. A method comprising: receiving a write request from a client at astorage server; and determining whether the received write request canbe presently logged in a non-volatile log (NVlog) based on a category ofthe write request, wherein the category of the write request comprises atarget volume of the write request, a client that issued the writerequest, an application that issued the write request, or a prioritylevel associated with the write request.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein determining whether the received write request can be presentlylogged in the NVlog comprises determining whether the category of thewrite request has exceeded a usage threshold, wherein the usagethreshold specifies how much of the NVlog can be occupied by writerequests associated with the category.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining whether the storage server is in a monitor mode,wherein determining whether the received write request can be presentlylogged in the NVLog is performed only if the storage server is inmonitor mode.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining whether thestorage server is in a monitor mode comprises determining that a firstportion of the NVLog is in consistency point (CP) processing.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein determining whether the storage server is ina monitor mode further comprises determining that usage on a secondportion of the NVLog has exceeded a threshold.
 6. A method comprising:classifying incoming write requests into a plurality of categories,wherein the plurality of categories comprise a target volume of thewrite request, a client that issued the write request, an applicationthat issued the write request, or a priority level associated with thewrite request; and allocating write bandwidth to the incoming writerequests based on an allowed NVlog usage for each of the plurality ofcategories.
 7. A storage server comprising: a network adapter configuredto connect the storage server to a network and to receive a writerequest from a client machine also connected to the network; annon-volatile log (NVLog) to log write requests between consistencypoints, the NVLog having a first portion and a second portion, whereinthe second portion of the NVLog is used to log write request while thefirst portion of the NVLog is in consistency point (CP) processing; anda memory storing an operating system, wherein the operating systemimplements a control of service layer to categorize the received writerequest into one of a plurality of categories, wherein the control ofservice layer implements a log policy manager to determine whether thereceived write request is allowed to be logged in the second portion ofthe NVLog based on the category of the write request.
 8. The storageserver of claim 7, wherein the control of service layer furthercomprises a usage monitor module to implement log usage table, whereinthe log usage table stores usage statistics over the second portion ofthe NVLog for each of the plurality of categories.
 9. The storage serverof claim 8, wherein the log policy manager determines whether thereceived write request is allowed to be logged in the second portion ofthe NVLog by comparing a usage threshold associated with the category ofthe write request with the usage statistic associated with the categoryof the write request.
 10. The storage server of claim 7, wherein thecategory of the write request comprises a target volume of the writerequest.
 11. The storage server of claim 7, wherein the category of thewrite request comprises the client machine.
 12. The storage server ofclaim 7, wherein the category of the write request comprises anapplication executing on the client machine.
 13. The storage server ofclaim 7, wherein the category of the write request comprises anapplication type associated with the write request.
 14. Amachine-readable storage medium having stored thereon data representingsets of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: receiving a write request froma client at a storage server; and determining whether the received writerequest can be presently logged in a non-volatile log (NVlog) based on acategory of the write request, wherein the category of the write requestcomprises a target volume of the write request.
 15. The machine-readablestorage medium of claim 14, wherein determining whether the receivedwrite request can be presently logged in the NVlog comprises determiningwhether the category of the write request has exceeded a usagethreshold, wherein the usage threshold specifies how much of the NVlogcan be occupied by write requests associated with the category.
 16. Themachine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the sets ofinstructions further cause the processor to determine whether thestorage server is in a monitor mode, wherein determining whether thereceived write request can be presently logged in the NVLog is performedonly if the storage server is in monitor mode.
 17. The machine-readablestorage medium of claim 16, wherein determining whether the storageserver is in a monitor mode comprises determining that a first portionof the NVLog is in consistency point (CP) processing.
 18. Amachine-readable storage medium having stored thereon data representingsets of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: receiving a write request froma client at a storage server; and determining whether the received writerequest can be presently logged in a non-volatile log (NVlog) based on acategory of the write request, wherein the category of the write requestcomprises a client that issued the write request.
 19. A machine-readablestorage medium having stored thereon data representing sets ofinstructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: receiving a write request from a clientat a storage server; and determining whether the received write requestcan be presently logged in a non-volatile log (NVlog) based on acategory of the write request, wherein the category of the write requestcomprises an application that issued the write request.
 20. Amachine-readable storage medium having stored thereon data representingsets of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: receiving a write request froma client at a storage server; and determining whether the received writerequest can be presently logged in a non-volatile log (NVlog) based on acategory of the write request, wherein the category of the write requestcomprises a priority level associated with the write request.